At the age of 16, George Johnston left the Yukon community of Teslin and trekked hundreds of miles overland to coastal Alaska in search of the history of his people. Johnston met with elders, learning as much as he could about the Tlingit religion and the songs and dances of his people. A few years later, Johnston did something else that was quite extraordinary: after ordering a camera from a mail-order catalogue, he taught himself to use it and to develop and print his own photographs. Johnston took the camera with him everywhere, and the images he recorded - of special moments and everyday occasions - became a beacon to the young and a testament to the golden times of the Tlingit people. Picturing a People: George Johnston, Tlingit Photographer is a unique portrait of a man who was himself a creator of portraits and a keeper of his culture. His photos, which record a critical period for the Tlingit nation, lovingly portray a sense of history and a zest for life. As director Carol Geddes, a clan relative of Johnston's says, his legacy 'was to help us dream the future as much as to remember the past.